Market Wrap, March 30: SENSEX crashes 1,635 pts, NIFTY50 below 22,350 as banking stocks drag; Bajaj Finance tanks 5%

The Indian stock market ended sharply lower on the final trading day of FY26 on Monday, March 30, with both equity benchmark indices plunging over 2%, dragged down majorly by banking stocks.

The market investors remained nervous as the US-Iran conflict entered its fifth week, the rupee hit record lows, and crude oil prices were elevated.

US President Donald Trump on Monday declared that American forces had struck “many long-sought-after targets” in Iran as the Pentagon surged thousands of troops to the Middle East, raising tensions across an already volatile region.

Both the private and public sector bank stocks, like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI and others, saw a sharp decline on Monday as the Reserve Bank of India capped the open positions that banks can hold in the onshore currency market at $100 million at the end of each trading day. The Nifty Bank index plunged 3.82% by the end of the session.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices continued to rise in the global market, hovering near $108 per barrel (bbl) throughout the day. The rupee also pared its initial gains and hit a historic low of 95.22 in intra-day trade on Monday.

According to exchange data, on Friday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹4,367.30 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹3,566.15 crore on a net basis.

So far in March, the foreign investors have pulled out ₹1.14 lakh crore from the Indian equity market—its worst monthly outflow amid escalating tensions in West Asia, a weakening rupee and rising crude oil prices.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading sharply lower on Monday as geopolitical tensions escalated after reports suggested that United States President Donald Trump raised an idea that American forces could seize Iran's Kharg island, its main oil terminal in the Persian Gulf.

Japan's Nikkei crashed 3.24%, South Korea's KOSPI fell 3.06%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.82%, while China's Shanghai Composite ended 0.24% higher.

The Indian stock exchanges will remain shut on Tuesday, March 31, on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti. 

Here are the key developments of Monday’s session that you need to know

As many as 3,411 stocks traded on the NSE on Monday. Out of this, 570 advanced and 2,764 declined, while 77 scrips remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market's breadth is favourable towards declines.

A total of 23 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 1,219 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 41 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 256 touched their lower circuit bands on Monday.

The market capitalisation of NSE-listed companies stood at ₹411.25 lakh crore by the end of the session.

The volatility index India VIX gained 4.04% to close at 27.89 levels.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index ended at 52,650 levels, tumbling 2.68%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 gauge settled 2.66% lower at 15,203.80 levels.

All the sectoral indices ended the session in red, with Nifty PSU Bank taking the lead, falling 4.56%, followed by Nifty Private Bank (-3.37%), Nifty Realty (-2.84%), Nifty Consumer Durables (-2.58%) and Nifty Media (-2.5%).

On Tuesday, 44 stocks declined on the NIFTY50 index, while only 6 settled in green.

Bajaj Finance was the biggest laggard, losing 4.95%, while Shriram Finance (-3.82%), State Bank of India (-3.8%), IndiGo (-3.65%), and Kotak Mahindra Bank (-3.59%) were the other top losers.

On the other hand, Hindalco Industries (2.46%), Tech Mahindra (1.66%), Coal India (1.13%), ONGC (1.05%), Power Grid (0.1%) and Reliance Industries (0.01%) were the only gainers.